NEW YORK — He looks like SpongeBob SquarePants and even comes with a maritime nickname, but the NYPD’s new parking enforcement device is something special.
The New York City Police are rolling out their new tool aimed at deterring illegal parking and blocked traffic. Called Barnacle, it is used by NYPD traffic crews to monitor parking.
And although it basically appears to be a yellow plastic box that covers the windshield of a vehicle, this item cannot be scraped or removed from the windshield.
“There’s a built-in motor and it has two suction cups. It sits on the windshield. A thousand pounds of pressure and it self-regulates. So if the temperature goes up or down, it will regulate the pressure,” said Traffic Inspector Brian O’Sullivan, who promoted which is safer for officers and more suitable for tracking the vehicle it is connected to.
“Deployment takes only 20 to 30 seconds, compared to the two or three minutes in which the officer has to kneel on the street. Not only is it safer and faster, but the technology it has makes it more efficient” said O’Sullivan. “We get GPS locations in real time. So if someone tries to walk away with it, we get notifications. And if someone tries to tamper with it, we get live notifications, too.”
There’s even an alarm that will sound if someone tries to remove the device from the windshield. So unless they have a sunroof, there is no way for drivers to take it.
It’s part of the NYPD’s decision to move away from traditional boots that attach to car tires. There are a few Barnacles placed around town, but O’Sullivan says more are on the way.
“We’re currently in a pilot program. We’re starting it in Queens. We’re going to increase the number of units we have in the next few weeks to expand it to the rest of the city,” O’Sullivan said.
So how exactly do you remove the Barnacle from your vehicle once it’s placed there? Drivers will have to follow the device’s instructions and pay a $185 fine to have it removed by a traffic officer.
2024-04-12 21:08:33
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